Former-Marine honored for heroism in Iraq

[thedrifter]

Posted on Sat, Jul. 29, 2006
Ex-Marine honored for heroism in Iraq

ASSOCIATED PRESS

CAMP PENDLETON - A former Marine sergeant credited with saving five fellow Marines in Iraq was presented Friday with the Navy Cross for heroism in combat.

Robert Mitchell of Iowa was awarded the medal for his actions as a squad leader for Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, during an assault in the city of Fallujah in November 2004.

While engaged in an intense gunfight in what then was an insurgent stronghold, five Marines were wounded and became pinned down in a house. Mitchell, 26, charged through enemy AK-47 fire and hand grenade explosions to reach the building.

As he approached the house, Mitchell was hit in the left leg by a ricocheting bullet and suffered grenade-fragmentation wounds to his face and legs. Mitchell ignored his wounds to treat a critically injured Marine, then he applied first aid to other Marines. As he was doing so, he noticed an insurgent reach for a weapon. Mitchell killed the man with his combat knife.

According to a Camp Pendleton news release, Mitchell was limping from his wounds and still under enemy fire when he assisted in the evacuation of the wounded.

"By his bold leadership and complete dedication to duty, Mitchell reflected extraordinary heroism while engaged in military operations," the statement said.

Mitchell left the Marine Corps in 2005 and now attends a motorcycle mechanics school in Phoenix.

Lt. Gen. John Sattler presented the award during a ceremony in which Mitchell made a brief speech.

The Navy Cross is second only to the Congressional Medal of Honor for combat heroism and distinguished service.

Fifteen Marines have been awarded the Navy Cross for combat service in Iraq or Afghanistan, Marine officials said.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Marine from Iowa awarded Navy Cross for heroism

By TONY PERRY, Los Angeles Times

CAMP PENDLETON --- His family in the Midwest never doubted that R.J. Mitchell II would do whatever was necessary to protect his fellow Marines in Iraq.

"We were concerned about him, of course, but we always knew he'd take care of himself and the men under him," said Bill Raiser of Lamoni, Iowa, Mitchell's maternal grandfather.

Just how well Mitchell took care of his men as a squad leader with Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment will be recognized here Friday as he receives the Navy Cross for heroism during the vicious house-to-house fighting in Fallouja in 2004.

The details of that Nov. 13 day have surprised even his family.

"He's always been so strong inside, I knew he'd do the job that was needed in Iraq," said Mitchell's mother, Martha Raiser, of Leon, Iowa. "But when you read the citation, it almost seems impossible that he could have done all that."

It was at the height of the assault by Marines on the insurgent stronghold in the Sunni Triangle. Insurgents had learned not to fight Marines in the open, preferring to barricade themselves inside a home, keeping their weapons aimed at the door and waiting for the Marines to break through.

When five Marines became pinned down inside a house, Mitchell charged through AK47 fire and hand grenade explosions to reach the house. He laid down a burst of gunfire to allow a corpsman to treat casualties.

Hit in the left leg by a ricocheting bullet and grenade shrapnel that also disabled his M-16, Mitchell spotted a wounded insurgent reaching for a weapon. He killed the insurgent with his knife and then, limping from his wounds, helped with the evacuation of wounded Marines.

His actions, according to the citation, saved the lives of several Marines. Sgt. Maj. Brad Kasal, who was in the same fight and also received the Navy Cross, said Mitchell was "a leader by example."

"He was very close to his Marines," Kasal said, "he wasn't boisterous or overbearing, but when he needed to speak up or be forceful he was there."

After the battle, Mitchell, 26, was given a Purple Heart, his fourth in two tours in Iraq.

He left the Marine Corps in early 2005 as a sergeant. He is studying motorcycle mechanics in Phoenix. He and wife, Sara, have a baby boy, R.J. III, born in January.

Mitchell downplays what he and other Marines accomplished in what came to be known among combat troops as Hell House. "It was a job, and we did it," he said.

Of the tens of thousands of Marines who have served in Iraq, barely a dozen have been awarded the Navy Cross, second only to the Medal of Honor for recognition of combat bravery by Marines and sailors.

Mitchell's mother and his father, Robert Mitchell of Omaha, Neb., will be at Camp Pendleton for the ceremony on Friday, when Mitchell is set to receive the Navy Cross from Lt. Gen. John Sattler, commanding general of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force.

"When you put yourself voluntarily in a bad situation, that's pure heroism," Kasal said.

Ellie